Conditional Sentences in Cantonese

In Brief

A basic Cantonese conditional puts the condition first and the result second: 如果 P，就 Q means “if P, then Q.” In everyday speech, 如果 may be omitted, or the condition may end in 嘅話: 你嚟嘅話，我就去 (“If you come, I’ll go”). For “unless,” use 除非 P，否則 Q.

Overview

A conditional sentence connects a condition—the situation that must hold—with a result, what happens if that situation holds. In 如果落雨，我就唔去 (“If it rains, I won’t go”), 如果落雨 is the condition and 我就唔去 is the result. At B1, the main task is to use a few flexible connectors and to understand when Cantonese leaves those connectors unstated.

English often marks differences such as “if it rains,” “if it rained,” and “if it had rained” by changing the verb. Cantonese verbs do not change tense in that way. Time words, aspect markers, context, and the speaker’s tone show whether a condition is open, unlikely, or contrary to fact. This makes the basic word order relatively simple, but it also means that a word-for-word transfer from English can produce unnatural sentences.

Condition-first order is the most neutral and easiest pattern to learn. Result-first order is possible in context, especially when the result is the main point, but it usually needs a clearly marked condition such as 嘅話.

How It Works

1. The core pattern: 如果…就

如果 (jyu4 gwo2) introduces the condition; 就 (zau6) marks the result that follows from it.

Pattern	Function	Example
如果 P，就 Q	explicit “if P, then Q”	如果得閒，我就打畀你。
如果 P，Q	result understood without 就	如果太貴，我唔買。
P，就 Q	condition understood without 如果	你唔嚟，我就自己去。

The letters P and Q simply stand for two clauses, meaning two parts that can express a situation. 就 is not an exact translation of English “will.” It presents Q as the direct, expected, or decided result of P. Cantonese does not require a future tense after 如果 or before 就.

Both markers can be present, but one is often omitted in conversation when the relationship is obvious. Keeping 就 is especially useful when the first clause could otherwise sound like background information rather than a condition.

2. Clause-final 嘅話

In conversational Cantonese, 嘅話 (ge3 waa6) can come at the end of the condition:

P 嘅話，(就) Q

• 你去嘅話，我就去。 — If you go, I’ll go.
• 聽日得閒嘅話，一齊食飯啦。 — If you’re free tomorrow, let’s eat together.

Here 嘅話 marks the whole preceding clause as a condition. It is related to 話 “speech/words,” but learners should memorize 嘅話 as the normal unit. Do not simply replace 如果 with bare 話 in careful learner speech.

如果 and 嘅話 can also appear together: 如果你去嘅話，我就去. This is common and clear, though in a short sentence one marker is often enough. Cantonese conversation favors economy, so 你去嘅話，我就去 or 如果你去，我就去 may sound lighter.

3. Zero-marked conditions

When the meaning is obvious, the condition needs no word corresponding to “if”:

P，(就) Q

• 有問題就問我。 — If you have a question, ask me.
• 唔舒服就休息吓。 — If you feel unwell, get some rest.
• 你唔嚟，我就自己去。 — If you don’t come, I’ll go by myself.

This pattern is extremely common in instructions, advice, warnings, and everyday plans. The two-part structure and 就 allow listeners to infer the conditional relationship.

4. Unless: 除非…否則

除非 (ceoi4 fei1) introduces the one condition that can prevent or change the result. 否則 (fau2 zak1) means “otherwise.”

除非 P，否則 Q

• 除非你幫手，否則做唔完。 — Unless you help, it can’t be finished.
• 除非落大雨，否則我哋照常出發。 — Unless it rains heavily, we’ll leave as planned.

The logic deserves care: Q is what holds when P does not happen. In the first example, no help leads to not finishing. An everyday alternative to formal-sounding 否則 is 唔係就 (“if not, then”): 你要快啲，唔係就會遲到 (“You need to hurry, or else you’ll be late”). However, 唔係就 is not placed into the fixed 除非…否則 frame word for word; it is a separate conversational way to express the consequence.

5. Wishes and preferred outcomes with 就好喇

P 就好喇 often expresses “it would be good if P” or “I wish P.” 好喇 (hou2 laa3) evaluates the imagined outcome as desirable.

• 早啲嚟就好喇。 — It would be good if you came earlier.
• 聽日唔落雨就好喇。 — I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.

The condition marker is absent because the construction itself supplies the hypothetical meaning. Depending on context, this can be a practical preference, a gentle request, or a wish. It is not merely the factual sequence “P, then good.”

6. Time and degree of reality

Cantonese normally keeps the same conditional frame whether the situation is likely, uncertain, imaginary, or already impossible. Add time and aspect information where needed:

Meaning	Cantonese strategy	Example
open future possibility	time word or context	如果聽日落雨，我哋就改期。
imagined present situation	context, often 要係/如果	如果我係你，我就唔會答應。
unreal past situation	past time phrase plus aspect/context	如果我琴日早啲出門，就唔會遲到喇。

會 (wui5) can express likelihood, prediction, or a resulting tendency, but it is not automatically required for English “will” or “would.” Use it when that meaning matters, not as a compulsory tense marker.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Note
如果落雨，我就唔去。	jyu4 gwo2 lok6 jyu5, ngo5 zau6 m4 heoi3.	If it rains, I won’t go.	Full basic pattern
你唔嚟，我就自己去。	nei5 m4 lai4, ngo5 zau6 zi6 gei2 heoi3.	If you don’t come, I’ll go by myself.	如果 omitted
如果太貴，我唔買喇。	jyu4 gwo2 taai3 gwai3, ngo5 m4 maai5 laa3.	If it’s too expensive, I won’t buy it.	就 omitted
你去嘅話，我就陪你。	nei5 heoi3 ge3 waa6, ngo5 zau6 pui4 nei5.	If you go, I’ll go with you.	Clause-final 嘅話
聽日得閒嘅話，一齊飲茶啦。	ting1 jat6 dak1 haan4 ge3 waa6, jat1 cai4 jam2 caa4 laa1.	If you’re free tomorrow, let’s have dim sum together.	Invitation
有咩問題就打畀我。	jau5 me1 man6 tai4 zau6 daa2 bei2 ngo5.	If there are any problems, call me.	Zero-marked condition
唔明就問，唔使怕醜。	m4 ming4 zau6 man6, m4 sai2 paa3 cau2.	If you don’t understand, ask; don’t be shy.	Advice
除非你幫手，否則做唔完。	ceoi4 fei1 nei5 bong1 sau2, fau2 zak1 zou6 m4 jyun4.	Unless you help, it can’t be finished.	Unless…otherwise
除非醫生話得，否則唔好停藥。	ceoi4 fei1 ji1 sang1 waa6 dak1, fau2 zak1 m4 hou2 ting4 joek6.	Don’t stop the medicine unless the doctor says you can.	Strong restriction
快啲行，唔係就趕唔切喇。	faai3 di1 haang4, m4 hai6 zau6 gon2 m4 cit3 laa3.	Walk faster, or else we won’t make it in time.	Conversational alternative
早啲嚟就好喇。	zou2 di1 lai4 zau6 hou2 laa3.	It would be good if you came earlier.	Preferred outcome
聽日唔落雨就好喇。	ting1 jat6 m4 lok6 jyu5 zau6 hou2 laa3.	I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.	Wish
如果我係你，我就唔會咁做。	jyu4 gwo2 ngo5 hai6 nei5, ngo5 zau6 m4 wui5 gam2 zou6.	If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.	Imagined situation
如果我琴日早啲出門，就唔會遲到喇。	jyu4 gwo2 ngo5 kam4 jat6 zou2 di1 ceot1 mun4, zau6 m4 wui5 ci4 dou3 laa3.	If I had left home earlier yesterday, I wouldn’t have been late.	Unreal past condition

Common Mistakes

Treating 就 as a future-tense word

• Wrong idea: Every English “will” must become 就, and every conditional must contain 會.
• Better: 如果聽日落雨，我唔去。
• Why: Cantonese has no obligatory future conjugation. 就 highlights the condition-result link; 會 adds prediction or likelihood. Neither is required merely because English uses “will.”

Putting 嘅話 after the result

• Wrong: 你嚟，我就去嘅話。 (for “If you come, I’ll go.”)
• Right: 你嚟嘅話，我就去。
• Why: Conditional 嘅話 closes the condition clause, so it belongs directly after the situation that means “if…”.

Using bare 話 as a universal replacement for 如果

• Wrong: 話你嚟，我就去。
• Right: 如果你嚟，我就去。 / 你嚟嘅話，我就去。
• Why: The productive clause-final conditional is 嘅話. Although fast speech and particular constructions may reduce sounds, 話 alone is not a safe general substitute for 如果.

Reversing the logic of 除非…否則

• Wrong: 除非你唔幫手，否則做唔完。 when the intended meaning is “Unless you help, we cannot finish.”
• Right: 除非你幫手，否則做唔完。
• Why: The 除非 clause names the exceptional condition that avoids the 否則 result. Translate the logic, not each word in isolation.

Copying English past forms into a present-time sentence

• Awkward reasoning: Searching for a special Cantonese form corresponding to “were” in “If I were you.”
• Natural: 如果我係你，我就唔會咁做。
• Why: 係 does not change form. 如果, 會, the sentence context, and the impossible identity “I am you” make the hypothetical reading clear.

Usage Notes

如果 is neutral and works in speech and writing. 若果 (joek6 gwo2) is a common variant with the same basic meaning. 假如 (gaa2 jyu4, “supposing that”) can sound more deliberate or hypothetical. 要係 (jiu3 hai6) is conversational and also means “if”: 要係佢唔嚟，我哋點算？ (“If they don’t come, what will we do?”).

嘅話 is especially natural in speech. Using 如果…嘅話 together is not ungrammatical; it brackets the condition clearly. Still, repeating both markers in every short sentence can sound heavier than ordinary conversation. Listen for how speakers alternate among 如果 P, P 嘅話, and simply P.

否則 is standard and common in careful explanations, rules, and writing. In casual conversation, speakers often choose 唔係就…, 如果唔係…, or restructure the sentence. The exact choice depends on whether they mean “unless,” “if not,” or “otherwise”; these overlap in translation but are not always interchangeable.

A comma is helpful in writing between the condition and result. In speech, a short pause and intonation do the same work. Traditional written punctuation does not change the grammar.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Conditions can follow the result

Although condition-first order is the default, a marked condition can come last when it is added as a qualification:

• 我會去，如果你都去嘅話。 — I’ll go, if you’re going too.
• 而家訂枱都未遲，如果仲有位嘅話。 — It isn’t too late to book now, if there are still seats.

The final 嘅話 is valuable here because it makes the grammatical relationship unmistakable. This order often sounds like the speaker first states a plan, then narrows it.

都 can mean “even if” in the result

A condition followed by 都 (dou1) in the result can show that the outcome remains unchanged:

• 就算落雨，我都會去。 — Even if it rains, I’ll still go.
• 你唔講，我都知道。 — Even if you don’t say it, I know.

This is more than an ordinary condition: the result holds despite the condition. It leads naturally toward concessive clauses, which express “although” and “even if.”

Unreal past meanings rely on context

English uses “had left” and “wouldn’t have been” to mark a past situation as impossible to change. Cantonese commonly combines a past-time expression such as 琴日 (“yesterday”), an earlier-time expression such as 早啲, and particles such as 喇 to establish the interpretation:

如果我琴日早啲出門，就唔會遲到喇。

The sentence does not mechanically encode every distinction found in the English verb forms, yet in context the regret is clear. Speakers may add more context when the timing could be ambiguous. At an advanced level, focus less on finding a one-to-one “third conditional” formula and more on making the timeline and the speaker’s stance explicit.

就 has meanings beyond conditionals

就 also occurs with meanings such as “then,” “right away,” “precisely,” or “as early as,” depending on structure and stress. In a sentence like 佢一到我就走 (“I’ll leave as soon as they arrive”), it links events closely. Do not label every 就 you hear as an “if…then” marker; first check whether the first part is truly a condition or instead a time trigger.

Practice Tips

1. Build three versions of one idea. Start with 如果你得閒，我就請你食飯, then shorten it to 你得閒嘅話，我就請你食飯, and finally 你得閒就一齊食飯. This trains you to recognize the same logic with different amounts of marking.
2. Draw the logic of 除非. Write P above “exception” and Q above “otherwise.” Test the sentence by asking: “When P does not happen, does Q follow?” This prevents accidental double negatives.
3. Listen for the clause boundary. In Cantonese conversations, note the pause before 就 and the position of 嘅話. Repeat the whole condition as one rhythm group rather than memorizing connectors in isolation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Conjunctions — provides the basic tools for linking clauses before building conditional relationships.
• Next steps: Concessive and Contrastive Clauses — extends clause linking to meanings such as “although” and “even if.”